You know the "what" of immigration.
Do you know the "why"?
Former Mexican leader Vicente Fox is currently making the talk show rounds promoting his book "A Revolution of Hope" This gets one to thinking of his controversial statement from 2005:
There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States.
Where his comments racist? Yes
Where they racist against blacks? Yes
Where they racist only against blacks? No
No? Who else could they have been racist against? They were racist against his own people!
How can that be? Well, let’s think about what he said. He announced that Mexicans will do any job. But, why is that? Is it because they are smarter or have a better work ethic than other people? No, that’s not it.
They are doing these jobs because what other choice do they have? What other choice has the Mexican government given them?
Fox did a reasonably good job over his six years. Inflation decreased and the economy improved slightly. However, when he became Mexico’s leader in 2000, he inherited a country that people were desperately trying to escape from on a daily basis, and now in 2007, this hasn’t changed. Again, the fault for this really lies with the previous governments, but the fact remains that the people are working hard not because they want to, but because the govenment leaves them with no other option. This is what he was bragging about?
Carlos Mencia put in very well in a recent bit:
Do you know why Mexicans work so hard? It’s because Black people gave up! That’s right! One day they just said "Hey Cracker we’re not doing these two-bit jobs for you anymore!" As soon as they said that a bunch of Mexicans raised their hands and said "Um, we’ll do it!"
How soon do you think it’ll be before Mexicans start refusing to butter those same "Crackers"?
It will be some time before the standard of living in third world countries can be noticeably improved, so illegal immigration will be an issue for some time to come. As long as it is an issue; building walls and other barriers will be on the table. However, working with these governments (through diplomacy, not military means) to make their countries more livable must finally become part of the national dialogue. I can’t say that I’ve ever visited a third world nation but I can easily imagine the devastation. After all; You don’t have to walk in someone’s shoes to know their shoe size!
Illegal immigrants would prefer to come here by legal means. In fact some are just desperate individuals who didn’t really want to come here at all. The few politicians who proposed turning illegals into felons know this. They weren’t serious; they were just trying to bring attention to the issue. And why did the majority of politicians avoid this issue for so long? Were they afraid of that dreaded racist label? Possibly, but there may have been something else. They know that their business constituents need these workers for cheap labor. Well so did slave owners. Many of these jobs can be replaced by automation. The issue of workers being replaced by automation would be addressed if politicians would start touching the ultimate third rail of politics: Overpopulation.
Standing by while immigrant workers are exploited is something both sides of the aisle are guilty of. I suppose they're only concerned with the exploitation of American workers.